Heart charity pledges £3m to diabetes research

A total of £3 million is to be spent on diabetes research and new treatments for the condition, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) has announced.

The charity has also released figures showing that the number of UK adults diagnosed with diabetes has increased by more than 65 per cent since 2005 and in the past year alone the number of diagnoses had gone up by 3.5 per cent.

Having diabetes doubles a person’s risk of a heart attack which is why the BHF hopes to better understand the connection between diabetes and how blood vessels function.

It’s hoped that this will lead to new treatments which might reduce the risk of people with diabetes dying prematurely from cardiovascular disease.

Nearly 3.5 million UK adults have been diagnosed with diabetes according to new GP patient data for 2014/15. This figure is up from 3.3 million last year and 2 million in 2004/05.

It is estimated that there hundreds of thousands more people with type 2 diabetes that remain undiagnosed. Having diabetes significantly increases a person’s risk of cardiovascular disease, which includes an increased risk of a deadly heart attack or stroke and of losing limbs because of poor circulation.

It’s scary to think how much more likely I am to have a heart attack because of diabetes

With the additional £3 million investment in diabetes research, the BHF is now funding over £27 million of research into diabetes, which is largely down to donations of time and money by the general public.

Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: “Diabetes is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Up to 4 million adults in the UK have diabetes so treatments are urgently needed that can help prevent them suffering a deadly or disabling heart attack or stroke.

‘Hugely damaging’

“Research we’re funding is showing us how diabetes can affect the blood vessels and bring on disease. By understanding this process, we hope to develop medicines that can prevent this disease process or even reverse it.”

Dr Richard Cubbon, at the University of Leeds, has received £180,000 of funding from the BHF to study a new way to treat the blood vessel damage associated with diabetes.

“We’ve known for some time that diabetes can be hugely damaging to the blood vessels and in spite of modern treatments, we are currently unable to reverse that damage.

“We’re studying a protein which could be involved in blood vessel repair. Our research could lead to new drugs that help to prevent the deadly heart attacks and strokes associated with diabetes.”

Feebee Cox, aged 43 from Warwick, was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2013.

Feebee tried to manage her condition through lifestyle changes but found that she still needed medication. More recently her partner Lawrence was also diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and has had two heart attacks.

“It’s scary to think how much more likely I am to have a heart attack because of diabetes. Since my diagnosis I’ve changed my diet and keep active through walking and regularly visiting the gym.

“It really helps that Lawrence and I can support each other on this journey. But I still need to take medicines to manage my condition and any new treatments that can be discovered to further reduce my risk of a heart problem would be hugely comforting.”

Last month the BHF launched its new research strategy, the charity aims to fund more than half a billion pounds of new cardiovascular research over the next five years.

‘Alarming rate’

Chris Askew, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said: “The number of people with diabetes is rising at an alarming rate and every year there are more than 20,000 people who die tragically young as a result of the condition. Given the scale and the seriousness of the condition, it is vital that there is more research into better treatment and, ultimately, into finding a cure for the condition.

“It is also important that the NHS do more to tackle the postcode lottery of care that exists and that everyone with diabetes gets the education they need to successful manage their condition and reduce their risk of devastating but potentially avoidable complications such as amputation, blindness and stroke.

“Diabetes remains one of the biggest health challenges of our time. We must protect the health of the nation by taking urgent steps to get to grips with it or we will continue to see more and more people dying before their time.”